22 Calories 3/5/13
Melissa
Nurse April noticed Hattie was getting a little puffy around her eyes this morning. Dr. Alexander said Hattie has nutritional edema, meaning she is receiving too many calories too quickly and gaining the wrong kind of weight. I like to say she was getting too fat too fast! To fix this they are no longer adding human milk fortifier to my milk to boost it to 26 calories. Instead, they're using a small amount (2 tablespoons to every 90 cc of breast milk) of powdered formula called Neosure 22 to make my milk 22 calories. Hattie is also no longer receiving her liquid protein and daily dose of caffeine. Hattie weighs 2,183 grams, or 4 pounds, 13 ounces. Her feeds have increased to 40 cc.
Hattie ate her full bottle at 4:30 and 7:30 this morning. She wasn't cueing for her 10:30 a.m. feed so I pumped and got ready to kangaroo. While I was pumping she started cueing so I fed her a bottle and she ate all but 12 cc. She completely wore herself out so she was a perfect little joey. While we were kangarooing I found myself studying the intricacies of Hattie's ear. When she was first born her ears were fused to her head and now they've pulled off like a normal ear. It's really incredible how we've gotten to watch her tiny body develop. After our kangaroo time Hattie ate her whole bottle at 1:30 p.m.
I went to a breastfeeding class today. The lactation consultant was very helpful and she provided some good tips for positioning. I learned some new tricks to try out that should make things easier for us. I rushed back to Hattie's room to put my training to work, only to find her peacefully sleeping through her 4:30 p.m. feed.
I tried nursing Hattie tonight for her 7:30 p.m. feed. I did the football hold that I learned in the class this afternoon and it was very comfortable for both of us. She latched on well and it really seemed like she ate a lot, but when we weighed her she had only eaten 2 cc. The ups and downs of feeding continue!
Chris has been insanely busy at work and he had a lot to catch up on so we forced ourselves to leave the hospital "early" at around 10 p.m.
We are exhausted, but we know this is only temporary. We trust we will soon be home together as a family with the NICU a distant memory. But, it doesn't make it any easier to leave each night without our baby girl.
I am leaving you with a gift–peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid. – John 14:27 (NLT)